“So you are leaving tonight?” Father Brian said to Himself.

“After dinner. Back to the big smoke!” Himself responded. “I’m expected back in the office tomorrow morning.”

“Did you enjoy your stay?” Father Brian asked.

“I did. Thank you for having me. Now, I can see that living at Camp Acorn is not without its challenges, but it was fun and I it is a terrific environment for the campers and the counselors. It’s obvious that our three kids have benefited from this place just over this last week.”

“Oh good! I’m glad!” Barb said.

“Did you get a chance to use any of the equipment while you were here?”

“Definitely! I went canoeing, climbed the wall, wind surfing and kayaking.”

“You did all that?” I asked astonished.

“While you were doing two trips into the emergency room, I was exploring all the camp activities.” Himself explained. “Oh and we went sailing, sorry about the tiller by the way. I’d be happy to leave a donation to cover the cost of replacing the busted broomstick!” Father Brian and Himself laughed.

“No need! No need! The tiller has already been replaced. With another broomstick of course.” We all laughed.

“That’s some ingenuity right there!” Himself said. “And the navy seals club rescuing us was impressive too. I will never forget that. These kids sure are lucky to have this gorgeous piece of property for their camp. My favorite thing to do was sit on the fishing dock or lie in the hammock and just enjoy the gorgeous view.”

“Were there things about camp you didn’t like?” Barb asked.

“The juice is horrible. I’m never even sure what the flavor is supposed to be.”

“Agreed!” I piped up. Barb, Himself and I all laughed by Father Brian looked vexed.

“I keep telling them to put more juice crystals in there!” Father Brian said irritably.

“The noise at the meals is pretty brutal. I think I have suffered significant hearing loss just in the last 48 hours. It’s like pandemonium. Seriously, why do they have to cheer at every meal? Every. Meal.” We all laughed at that. It was so true. Every meal seemed like there was a potential for mutiny.

“Oh and I got whistled at more times then I would like to remember.” Himself continued.

“Whistled at?” Father Brian asked looking confused.

“Ya. Counselors blowing their whistles at me for breaking rules.”

“Ohhhh! I see.” Father Brian grimaced. “You are a rebel.”

“In my defense, I never got an orientation. So it was ‘Sir, you can’t sit there. Sir, you need a PFD. Sir, you must stay within the designated swimming area. Sir, you can’t swim there. Sir, you can’t swim there either.'” Himself mimicked.

“They take their life guarding very seriously!”

“I get it. There has to be rules, but, I’m an adult, not a camper. If I drown or get mauled by a muskie outside the safety rope, I will take complete and full responsibility!”

“Ah! Ah! Ah! No, no!”Barb waved her finger. “You must never venture outside of the safety ropes. Who knows what evil lurks outside of those ropes!” Barb said with a grin.

“No kidding!” Himself responded. “Oh, I took the liberty of fixing some of your leaky faucets in the bathrooms, Father Brian…” As Himself and Father discussed plumbing replacement parts, Barb turned to me.

“I am going to get us some extra child care tonight so that we can enjoy some adult time. How does that sound?” Barb asked me.

“Delightful!”

“I have a bottle of wine that is calling my name… I need to share it.”

“Even more delightful!” I said with a sparkle in my eyes.